Wednesday, December 25, 2013

NFL Week 17 Power Rankings

One week left in the season, let's see how they stack up.




1.  Seattle  No longer invincible at home but still belongs on top. They're going to need to figure out how to loosen up defenses for their run game.

2.  Denver  There shouldn't be a question about who the best regular season quarterback of All-Time is. The defense is hurting for certain, with no signs of improvement.

Thursday, December 19, 2013

NFL Brain Dump - Playoff Race of Disgrace

So many teams had a chance to make a statement in week 15 and strengthen their playoff position but failed to capitalize on their opportunities. The top three seeds in the AFC all lost and gave other teams hopes of getting either a playoff bye or home game. Outside of the West division, the top teams in the NFC are falling by the wayside. Now there are teams whose life lines were weak just a week ago, are now revitalized.



Tuesday, December 17, 2013

NFL Week 16 Power Rankings

Just one new team sneaks in this week. We're heading for an exciting close to the NFL season as teams fight for playoff seeding but in these power rankings, Seattle is back at the top.



1.  Seattle  All we talk about is Seattle's defense but Russell Wilson is a special player. He has yet to lose while playing on his home field. I expect to see him at Met Life Stadium in February.

2.  Denver  No problem scoring points but this defense is just flat out horrible. The winterization of their offense will take away the biggest advantage they have over opponents.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

NFL Brain Dump - Injured Feelings


I feel like I should say something about the situation going in Washington regarding their coach and the quarterback that loves to take off and scramble. After all he’s a coach that made a ballsy decision to go with a quarterback at the beginning of a season when nobody had any real idea as to how he would perform. Even after losing this past week, there’s no doubt that the coach chose a leader of men whom in which all of his teammates will go to battle for. This week, his team is on the road in a city that they’ll most likely visit in February. Of course, I'm speaking of the team that plays in Seattle, Washington.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

NFL Week 15 Power Rankings


1.  Denver  400 yards and 4 touchdowns versus one of the better pass defenses in the league answered questions about Peyton's play in the cold.

2.  Seattle  Played a gritty game; this is what they do. Barely finished on the wrong side.

Thursday, December 5, 2013

NFL Brain Dump - Sleeping In Seattle

No! I don't mean "sleeping on Seattle", although I'll be the first to admit I had my doubts about the offense being able to produce points on a consistent basis. I actually mean that any NFC team with Super Bowl aspirations will have to sleep in Seattle, Washington in order to accomplish that. After beating up the New Orleans Saints in front of the entire school, The Hawks are now 2 games clear of the closest challenger for the best record in their conference.  Carolina and New Orleans (both 9-3) face each other twice in the final four games. Seattle is brash and they love to talk trash . . . boy are they fun to watch?

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

NFL Week 14 Power Rankings

Barring a meltdown, NFC championship contenders will have to deal with the 12th Man.




1.  Seattle  Dominant performance. With a 2 game gap, the NFC road to the Super Bowl officially runs through Seattle.

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

NFL Week 13 Power Rankings

1.  Seattle  The league’s most consistent team up until this point. We’ll see what they’re made of this upcoming week against a team that has an explosive offense as well as good D.

2.  New Orleans  Extremely shaky win at Atlanta, now Drew Brees faces the best secondary in the league.  They’ve had trouble stopping the run all season long. Seattle will give them a heavy dose.

3.  New England  The hard part of their schedule is now out of the way.  Look for them to run the rest of the regular season table. Road to the Super Bowl might have to pass through Foxboro.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

NFL Brain Dump - Lights, Cam, Action!

The Carolina Panthers are now seen by many as legit Super Bowl contenders. If you've been reading this column regularly, you know that I was high on them when they were a 1-3 team; they just caught some really bad breaks early in the season. Pat on my back out of the way, most of America just witnessed last Monday night why I was so high on them.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

NFL Week 12 Power Rankings


1.  Denver  Reclaimed top dog status in the AFC with huge win over division rivals. Peyton Manning is probably the best at salting games away with a lead.

2.  Seattle  They’ve just ran through competition without a real challenge since the Indy game. They get one after the bye.

3.  New Orleans  Came up big under pressure. They really need to find a run game or else defenses will just tee off on Brees. That balance is needed.

Thursday, November 14, 2013

NFL Week 11 Power Rankings


1.  Kansas City With a week to prepare for the Broncos, they have a chance to silence the doubters.

2.  Denver They treated the Chargers like the practice squad and shut it down late in the game.

3.  Seattle They control their own destiny, now Harvin adds some explosiveness to the offense.

NFL Brain Dump- Midseason Musings

Is there anything newsworthy from the past couple weeks to discuss? I have had so much to say about the Incognito situation that I thought it was best to stay out of harms way and don't say anything. However, I can't just say nothing even though I learned that's the path to take if it's not anything nice. That's the conclusion I've come to on this situation.  Maybe if Incognito didn't have the reputation of a jerk, he would have probably been given a pass.  Because after all, America loves to give people who are contrite a second chance and even third chances unless you happen to run a dog fi. . . nevermind, see I have too much to say.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Out Of The Shadows - Bledsoe Shining As A Sun

Eric  Bledsoe's early season play has been a revelation for many basketball fans. He's lead the Phoenix Suns to a surprising 5-2 record to start the season.  It was conceded that the Suns would be one of the organizations that would want to tank this season; especially since they traded Marcin Gortat, who most pundits believed to be the team's best player, prior to the start of the season.  Apparently you can't really grade a player's competitive nature when evaluating him; not when he's ready to seize his shining moment.

Friday, November 8, 2013

Kyrie's (lack of) Progress

I want to start this off by saying that Kyrie Irving is such a phenomenal basketball player. Prior to this season, I wrote some nice things about what he needs to do to take his game to the next level. So, let me take a look at the sample size that is the six game start to this season and examine where his game is at.


He's one of the best young guards this league has; just not one of the best young POINT guards. I've always dismissed the notion that he is currently an elite point guard based on my analysis that his skill set is better suited to play shooting guard. He has, however, slightly elevated his game as far as setting his teammates up this season; he eclipsed his career 5.7 assists average in  five of the six games played. Forget about what I think about what defines a point guard and his shortcomings in those areas though.

Thursday, November 7, 2013

NFL Week 10 Power Rankings

A few teams caught some unexpected losses last week but much of the top 10 remains the same. The Colts continue to impress while Seattle and Kansas City are barely escaping.


1.  Kansas City- They get a well deserved week off before a showdown with Denver. They'd be wise to figure out O-line protection so that Alex Smith can exploit a shaky Bronco secondary.

2.  Denver- Let’s see if they’ve fixed the defensive woes during the bye week.  The Chargers will surely test them.

Monday, November 4, 2013

BBN Report: Keith Bogans Profile

6'5"  215 lbs
Alexandria, Virginia
10 NBA Seasons
Career:  6.4 ppg  2.7 rpg  21.7 mpg
2012/13: 4.2 ppg 1.6 rpg  19.0 mpg
2003 SEC Player of the Year
2003 3rd Team All-American




Keith Bogans was implanted as a starter from the day he set his feet in Lexington.  He made the SEC All-Freshman team in 2000. The 2000/01 season was his best individually when he averaged almost 18 ppg and NBA draft experts had him pegged as a potential lottery pick.  He decided to stay for four years, and in his senior season, he lead the Wildcats to an undefeated conference slate; they also finished the regular season ranked on top of the AP polls.  That team was nicknamed the "Suffocats" for the way that their defense suffocated opponents. There was high National Championship hopes for the Big Blue Nation but tragedy struck as Bogans suffered a high ankle sprain in the sweet 16 win over Wisconsin.  Bogans made a valiant effort to try to lead his team to victory over Marquette two days later but it was all for not as Dwyane Wade ripped his one-legged defender apart for a 29 point triple double.

Saturday, November 2, 2013

BBN Report - Tayshaun Prince Profile

6'9" 215 lbs
Compton, California
12 NBA Seasons
Career 12.6 ppg  4.6 rpg 2.6 apg
2001 SEC Player of the year
2001 2nd Team All-American
2004 NBA Champion
2008 Olympic Gold Medal
4 time NBA All Defensive 2nd Team


Tayshaun Prince arrived in Lexington the year after Tubby Smith's first Big Blue squad cut the nets down. He was the first of Tubby's small handful of blue chippers that played in Rupp Arena.  He never turned out to be what most of Kentucky fans were used to seeing from top flight recruits.  What he did become was the exact type of basketball player that Tubby wanted for his system.  In his junior year, he garnered SEC Conference Player Of the Year honors.  His gritty play on defense and intelligent play on offense carried over to a lucrative professional career.

Friday, November 1, 2013

NFL Brain Dump: Checking The Climate

This week's brain dump will take a brief look at some of the league's on-goings.  Even though we're approaching week 9, we haven't quite reached the half-way mark because only half of the teams have completed half of their schedule due to the bye weeks.  There have been a few surprises and many disappointments.


Aaron Rodgers continues to lead the Green Bay Packers to victory.  There are some quarterbacks who have been under performing  this season and the media have given them outs by saying this is the result of injuries to their top wide receivers.   No such excuses are coming from the Packers' organization.  Green Bay has lost their top three wide receivers from last season and Rodgers just keep piling on the wins.  This is nothing new.

Colin Kaepernick isn't playing like he's the future of the NFL.  This shouldn't be a concern for any fan of the San Francisco 49'ers because he is doing what he is supposed to do, which is executing the game plan set forth by his head coach.  If anything, the underwhelming performance early in the season can be attested to Coach Harbaugh wanting to show off his toy but it can't work right without the proper accessories (Crabtree).  What they have done in the bay is revert back to running the ball which has been a recipe for their success in the past. This shouldn't surprise anyone.

Alex Smith is a terrible quarterback.  No, I don't really believe this.  This is something that people like to say because he isn't putting up flashy numbers and doesn't take chances beyond the intermediate level of the defense.  He is a game manager who is completing the assignment given to him by Kansas City Chief's head coach Andy Reid.  Are we really going to argue with the results he has produced? Many quarterbacks in his situation will listen to the chatter from the peanut gallery and try to show people how wrong they are.  Alex Smith is is playing within himself and being the best that he can be.  I thought KC would do good but being undefeated is surprising.

There is something really wrong with the Dallas Cowboys.  This has nothing to do with Tony Romo choking away games because he is playing some amazing football this season.  This has nothing to do with the over-hyped outburst by Dez Bryant in last weeks loss; I love the passion he displayed.  I'd much rather go to battle with somebody that I know cares about me surviving than somebody who acts like everything is cool.  Over the years, Dallas has put talented players on the field but have lost a lot of close games.  Maybe it's the coaching.  Maybe its the owner that doesn't know how to chill.  They have the best team on paper in their division.  Their results have been a disappointment.

Greg Schiano has no idea how to lead a group of men.  Neither the old players or new players like him.  I'm really surprised he hasn't been fired yet; I can imagine this is disappointing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans.  Tony Dungy put in work during his tenure in Tampa and built a culture of winning football, just to have ownership sacrifice that for a quickie super bowl win.  Now it seems like they've chosen to fully embrace their traditional losing culture.

That's all I really have to say this time around.  Next week will bring a full mid-season report.

Let me know what you think of these musings in the comments section.


Tuesday, October 29, 2013

2013/14 NBA Season Western Conference Outlook

The new basketball season has finally arrived and I'm excited to see how it plays out.  I'm even more excited to write about it.  I don't like to use the word preview in my writing because you can't see the weird things that run through my mind as I'm putting thoughts to paper.  I see everybody else giving predictions and such, so figure I'll just throw some things out there for your reading pleasure and come back later to revisit them.

The first four are legitimate title contenders:


NFL Week 9 Power Rankings

Not much has changed from last week.  Although, the Chiefs, Broncos, Patriots, and Seahawks looked shaky in their wins, none of the previous top 10 lost.



1.  Kansas City   They continue to not lose to the teams on their schedule. It's crazy to see the lack of respect this team as a whole gets because nobody believes in their shoddy quarterback.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

NFL Brain Dump: All About Luck

If we didn't learn anything from this past weekend of footballing, we were at least reminded that the games aren't decided on paper, the win has to be earned in between the lines.  Place kickers are often mocked for being lesser men or considered unimportant members of the team.  There also comes a point in time where things that we once perceived to be true have to be disregarded once the facts are eventually presented to us.  In this edition I’ll touch on these points but when it’s all said and done, maybe all that is needed is bit of luck.

NFL Week 8 Power Rankings



My friends over at the The OpinioNation blog releases a weekly "The Strength Of Ten" article which is basically a top 10 version of NFL power rankings. I'm on the panel that comes up with the list, I figured I should share my personal choices that factor into it.  Check there rankings and see how it compares to mine.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

BBN Report - Nazr Mohammed profile

6'10" 220 lbs
Chicago, Illinois
15 seasons
career: 6.3 ppg 5.0 rpg 16.9 mpg
2012/13: 2.6 ppg 3.1 rpg 11.0 mpg
'96 & '98 NCAA Champion
2005 NBA Champion




Nazr is the last of Rick Pitino's high flying Kentucky Wildcats that is still playing in the NBA.  While in Lexington he rode the bench as a 300 pound freshman, playing sparingly as team cut the nets down in 1996. After he got in shape, he became a key player on the '97 team that lost to Arizona in the National Championship final game; it was also the last game of the Pitino era.  The 1997/98 season ushered in the Tubby Smith era of UK hoops with a National title.  Nazr entered the NBA draft after his junior season.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

NFL Week 7 Power Rankings

My friends over at the The OpinioNation blog releases a weekly "The Strength Of Ten" article which is basically a top 10 version of NFL power rankings. I'm on the panel that comes up with the list, I figured I should share my personal choices that factor into it.  Check there rankings and see how it compares to mine.

The NBA's Crucial Year Three part 3: "A Rose on the Hardwood"

Derrick Rose has set the bar high for all first round draft picks because of the accolades he achieved during his third NBA season.  In the 2010/11 season, Rose's third year, he was a starter on the East All-Star team, named to the All-NBA first team, and selected as the league's Most Valuable Player.  His brand of basketball was so exceptional that season that when the most recent collective bargaining agreement was finalized, there was a provision written in to reward players that out-play their rookie contract. Part 1 of this series looked at players from the 2011/12 rookie class who have shown star potential but need to raise their level of play to be considered for the 25% max.  Part 2 featured the young stars of this class who are likely to receive the max. 

In this final installment of "Year Number Three" series, we'll look at this draft's cream of the crop and his chances of earning "The Derrick Rose Provision"

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

NFL Brain Dump: XOXO

I love watching football.  It isn't always about what plays are called, because sometimes passion is what ultimately decides the outcome.

The main thing that I took away from the epic Patriots versus Saints showdown is that Bill Belichick is still a better coach than you, me, Sean Payton, Rob Ryan or anyone else that loves football.  For the most part this season, the Saints have been taking what defenses give them, which have lead to Jimmy Graham taking a lot of yardage and dunking the football over crossbars.  In this game, Bill decided to play along and give Brees whatever he wants EXCEPT for passes to the elite tight end.  This was accomplished by having his best coverage defender shadow New Orleans’ best receiver, seems like a simple concept, it’s surprising that up until now no other coordinator employed this basic tactic which worked so well that Jimmy was held without a catch.  As well as “project shutdown Jimmy” worked, it still wasn’t enough to win the game; the game was decided by heart, mind control, and clutch plays.

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

NFL Brain dump: Week 5

It's been said that NFL teams that have opened the season with two losses over the past five years haven't made the playoffs.  This week, I'll track the eight teams that this applies to this season as well as some other musings.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

See, What Had Happened Was... brain dump 9/24/13

Leakage is what this post is all about.  I need to unload some things that I have on my mind regarding the NFL, plug a few websites, and for fantasy football stuff scroll down to the bottom.

Saturday, September 21, 2013

The NBA's Crucial Year Three part 2: "Max-nificent"

 In the first part of this series, I discussed some players that will surely earn a nice ransom but need to impress in this upcoming season to raise their value.  In this edition, we'll look at some potential franchise guys who are almost assured of receiving "The Max" if they continue their progression in year number three.  The third season of an NBA player's career is the most important.  It is essential to their financial well-being that they perform well or display the potential to be a coveted member of an organization's future.  Rookie deals are for a guaranteed two years; this only applies to first round draft picks. We'll also take a glance at a couple of second round picks that deserved to be mentioned with the previous group.

Friday, August 30, 2013

The NBA's Crucial Year Three part 1: "Money Earning"

The third season of an NBA player's career is the most important because it is integral to their financial well-being that they perform well or display the potential to be a coveted member of an organization's future.  When a player is drafted, there is no need to negotiate their contract because the amount they make depends on where they were chosen in the draft; this is often referred to as their "rookie deal".  Rookie deals are for a guaranteed two years; this only applies to first round draft picks.  However, a team may exercise an option for a third year, most will do this unless a player is a complete bust.  There's also an option for a fourth year.  If a player can have a breakout type of season in year three, the organization will most likely offer them a contract extension starting at the maximum amount allowed 25% of the salary cap which would kick in at the start of the fifth season.  In part one of this series, I take a look at some first rounders going into their third season that need to ball so hard  for their agents to be taken seriously when the word "max" is spoken.

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Paper Pigskin Point Potential NFC East

This is a series on my 2013 outlook of players you would want to have on your Paper Pigskin team (fantasy football).  I'll be organizing them by division.  What you'll find here are my views based on years of playing experience and countless hours of geeking out researching stats, trends, and articles.  I'll advise where to reach and whose hype not to believe.

Philadelphia Eagles  237 passing ypg  117 rushing ypg  (posted August 28, 2013)

QB:  Fans in Philly and around the NFL have been used to Andy Reid pacing the sidelines for the last 14 years methodically calling intricate pass plays.  Reid is no longer in town and his successor has a style that is the polar opposite.  Chip Kelly is implementing a system that advocates getting plays started without using much of the play clock.  What this means for the quarterback is that he'll have an abundance of opportunities to score points.  It's unknown what the ratio of run to pass will actually be, what is known is that Michael Vick can run very well and is encouraged to do so.   Vick's value is predicated on his ability to gain rushing yards in large chunks even though it's common knowledge that he has one of the strongest arms in the league albeit he isn't very accurate.  Vick is a high end QB2 with top five upside.

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Paper Pigskin Point Potential AFC West

This is a series on my 2013 outlook of players you would want to have on your Paper Pigskin team (fantasy football).  I'll be organizing them by division.  What you'll find here are my views based on years of playing experience and countless hours of geeking out researching stats, trends, and articles.  I'll advise where to reach and whose hype not to believe.

Kansas City Chiefs  170 passing ypg  150 rushing ypg  (posted August 27, 2013)

QB:  New head coach Andy Reid is planning to to turn around the culture of losing in Kansas City and he's going to start with his quarterback.  Reid runs a pass heavy system that is the polar opposite from the team that Alex Smith was traded from.  Alex Smith could be one of the biggest sleepers at any position this season.  As the 49ers quarterback, his role was to hand the ball off and make sure he doesn't turn it over.  As a Chiefs quarterback, he will be passing it often.  Smith completed 70% of his passes in 10 games last season before being demoted.  Rest assured, Smith will be doing much more than managing games under Reid.  Smith has been one of the last QBs drafted, it doesn't make sense considering who is calling the plays for him.

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Paper Pigskin Point Potential NFC North

This is a series on my 2013 outlook of players you would want to have on your Paper Pigskin team (fantasy football).  I'll be organizing them by division.  What you'll find here are my views based on years of playing experience and countless hours of geeking out researching stats, trends, and articles.  I'll advise where to reach and whose hype not to believe.

Green Bay Packers  253 passing ypg  106 rushing ypg  (posted August 26, 2013)

QB:   Aaron Rodgers is the most efficient play maker in the league.  Last season he threw a touchdown pass for every 110 yards and was only intercepted eight times compared to 39 touchdowns.  Rodgers should be one of the first two quarterback selected always.  The Packers play at a deliberate pace on offense, if not for this, Rodgers' Paper Pigskin production would be threw the roof.  His lack of negative points resulting from interceptions and his running ability is what keeps him on the same level as a 5,000 yard passer.  The legitimate threat of a rushing attack in Green Bay will open up more opportunities for big plays.

Monday, August 5, 2013

Paper Pigskin Point Potential AFC South

This is a series on my 2013 outlook of players you would want to have on your Paper Pigskin team (fantasy football).  I'll be organizing them by division.  What you'll find here are my views based on years of playing experience and countless hours of geeking out researching stats, trends, and articles.  I'll advise where to reach and whose hype not to believe.

Houston Texans  239 passing ypg  133 rushing ypg  (updated September 2, 2013)

QB:   Matt Schaub is an accurate quarterback that executes the game plan designed by coach Gary Kubiak.  Unfortunately, the scheme doesn't call for a high volume of passes.  Houston is a prolific running team, and with the success they've had with it, there's no need for this to change.  There is hope for an increase in production due to the addition of an acrobatic rookie wide receiver.  Schaub should be drafted as a backup if your QB1 has a bye in weeks 11 or 12.

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Paper Pigskin Point Potential NFC South

This is a series on my 2013 outlook of players you would want to have on your Paper Pigskin team (fantasy football).  I'll be organizing them by division.  What you'll find here are my views based on years of playing experience and countless hours of geeking out researching stats, trends, and articles.  I'll advise where to reach and whose hype not to believe.

New Orleans Saints  312 passing ypg  99 rushing ypg  (updated September 1, 2013)

QB:  Drew Brees is capable of stat lines that will win many Paper Pigskin matchups by himself.  The Saints' defense gets shredded regularly, which forces the offense to try to win shootouts.  Brees doesn't take many bad hits and is a sure bet to finish in the top five overall.

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Paper Pigskin Point Potential AFC North

This is a series on my 2013 outlook of players you would want to have on your Paper Pigskin team (fantasy football).  I'll be organizing them by division.  What you'll find here are my views based on years of playing experience and countless hours of geeking out researching stats, trends, and articles.  I'll advise where to reach and whose hype not to believe.

Cincinnati Bengals  224 passing ypg  109 rushing ypg  (posted August 24, 2013)

QB:  Andy Dalton has lead the Bengals to playoff births in his first two seasons. Similar to Joe Flacco, Dalton wins games in real life but not so much in Paper Pigskin.  What makes the ginger different is that Cincinnati have added to their supporting cast to go with one of the best targets outside.  Wait until the 10th round when backup QBs start to come off the board to select Dalton, the extra options on offense might be enough to elevate him to a borderline QB1.

Friday, August 2, 2013

Paper Pigskin Point Potential NFC West

This is a series on my 2013 outlook of players you would want to have on your Paper Pigskin team (fantasy football). I'll be organizing them by division.  What you'll find here are my views based on years of playing experience and countless hours of geeking out researching stats, trends, and articles. I'll advise where to reach and whose hype not to believe.

San Francisco 49ers  206 passing ypg  156 rushing ypg  (posted August 23, 2013)

QB:  Colin Kaepernick has all the tools to produce Paper Pigskin greatness from the quarterback position; running speed, throws lasers, and rarely turns the ball over.  The only question that's needs to be answered before he can be considered a no brain top five pick is if Coach Harbaugh will choose to unleash him with the read option and air it out or will he pound defenses with the pure power running game and short passing.  If the playoffs type aggressiveness is the decision, expect a top three year from Kaep.  If Harbaugh decides to be conservative, you'll still get solid low QB1 contribution.  A late 4th/early 5th round selection is merited.

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Paper Pigskin Point Potential AFC East

This is a series on my 2013 outlook of players you would want to have on your Paper Pigskin team (fantasy football). I'll be organizing them by division.  What you'll find here are my views based on years of playing experience and countless hours of geeking out researching stats, trends, and articles. I'll advise where to reach and whose hype not to believe.

New York Jets  181 passing ypg  119 rushing ypg  (posted August 31, 2013)

QB:  There's no purpose in drafting a Jets quarterback if Mark Sanchez is deemed the starter.  The reasons won't be his 4-year career stats of 55% completion or his 68 touchdown to 69 interception ratio or his 3,000 yards per year average.  The reason he shouldn't be drafted is because Marty Mornhinweg, his new offensive coordinator, runs a vanilla West Coast offensive scheme.  Many teams use WC offense with much success but Marty's version is more evenly balanced between pass and run; this can lead to wins for the real football team but not good for your Paper Pigskin team.  In addition the offensive scheme, there's just not enough receiving talent on this team to help Sanchez pad his stats.  On the other hand, if Geno Smith gets the nod, there's plenty of potential for him to score points due to his running ability. If he does get the start, just know that rushing yards add addition value for QBs.  Use a late round flier on Smith because the game is changing.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

See, What Had Happened Was... Soccer Edition

See what had happened was... the very first piece I wrote for this blog was about my love for soccer and how I became a fan.  As the season winds down, we take a look back at some of things that have kept my fandom going strong.  England has provided a very exciting backdrop as of late.  The world’s most popular sport was on full display.  Whether it was exhibiting the quality of their top league’s competition on it's season's last day or hosting the championship match of Europe’s Premier tournament, those aligned to the union were quite spoiled.  Even play in the United States has been newsworthy.  Here's a look at some of the events that transpired...

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Which State Births The Best NBA Players?

When starting lineups are introduced before an NBA game, the arena announcer usually include a player's height, jersey number, position, experience, and college.  If a player didn't attend college, then their high school is declared, if they didn't attend high school in the United States, then their country of birth is given.  As I was browsing Twitter the other night, I ran across a question that piqued my interest.  Someone said "I wondered, if you made NBA teams with players all from the same state, who would have the best team?"  Being that I was raised and live in California, I answered quickly, "Easily California."  Is the answer really that simple though?  To be sure, I did further research and for fun, assembled rosters based on the birth state of players.

Friday, May 17, 2013

2012-13 All NBA Team

The All NBA Team isn't about who the most entertaining players in the league are.  It isn't about who meant more to their team, so there's no factoring "what the team did when so and so wasn't on the floor."  It's really about the guys who got the work done better than anybody else at their position this season.  So position by position, I took the guys who produced and put them in an imaginary starting lineup to make up the first team.  Certain players clearly stand out, others can be debated.  If their play didn't contribute to a winning record, they were excluded from receiving recognition.  Here are my thoughts on the 2012-2013 All NBA Team.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Post Season Awards... NBA Coach Of theYear

The terms MVP, 6th Man, and Rookie Of the Year all are sub-categories of what's known as "post season awards".  Every year there is what I like to call misconceptions about who is deserving of these awards.  I'll make one thing clear;  even though these accolades are awarded in the post season, how someone, or his team performs in the playoffs have absolutely no bearing on if he's deserving or not.  If you don't understand that most of the time the ballots are turned in before the season is even over, you should now.  What "post season" means in this context is the award is given out after the season is over, in the same way that preseason awards are predictions of who will win these awards and not awarding trophies for players' performances in the preseason.

Monday, April 29, 2013

See, What Had Happened Was... Recap Week ending 4/28


See, what had happened was… On this day in history (April 29, 1992), a trial jury acquitted four Los Angeles Police Department officers of assault and use of excessive force on Rodney King, RIP. This event jump started the LA riots. Still, to this day it seems that we can’t all get along.  Now on to sports... This news didn't happen last week but I needed to include the biggest story of the sports world so far this year, it couldn't wait until my next posting.  On Monday morning April 29th, Sports illustrated released a self written article about Jason Collins. Collins became the first active athlete in a major American sport to announce that he’s gay...

Monday, April 22, 2013

See, What Had Happened Was... Recap week ending 4/21

I realize complex analysis and weird view points can get boring sometimes. So I'm gonna dedicate one blog entry every week to be filled with random thoughts on various topics of recent happenings. I'm also gonna speak on things that I think might happen, most people call this a prediction but I won't because I don't feel like being all technical and accountable in this particular piece.  I would hate if someone would referencing an off the top opinion piece and hold it against me. I'm sure it'll happen regardless but whatever, this is just for fun. Expect me to drift way off topic write about my other love, hip hop music, there's nothing like it. So anyway...

Friday, April 19, 2013

NBA Most Improved Player... Who Really Deserves This?

Okay, I want to state for the record that this is the most ridiculous of the post-season awards handed out by the National Basketball Association.  There really isn’t a set standard or a defined checklist to go by to weigh how some players have improved their game versus others that have gotten better.  However, since the association wants to keep this award in place, I might as well give my seven cents on it.  I’ll break guys into three different groups.

Thursday, April 18, 2013

NBA Sixth Man Of the Year

A substitute, replacement, back-up, relief… these are some of the labels that are given to the players that aren’t included in the starting lineup in sports.  In basketball, this collective not included in the starting five is known as “the bench”.  It’s a fact that the level of contributions from the bench makes the difference between franchises that are just being mediocre from those that are bona fide contenders.  A special designation though is usually reserved for the first player to check into the game, the sixth man. The sixth man can simply be the best of the group that’s not worth enough to be starters or he can very well be good enough to start but the coaching staff feels he can more of an impact coming off the bench.  Enough of the basics let me get to the point.  I feel the person that wins Sixth Man Of the Year should be someone that’s indispensable to his organization, an integral part of its success and comes from a top tier team.  Therefore my winner is going to fall into that criterion.

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

NBA Rookie Of the Year


The narrative gets pretty boring when it appears there is only one reasonable answer, so I’ll try to enlighten you because this race turned out to be interesting.  November wasn't even over and a clear cut leader of the pack had already emerged.  Most people predicted the likes of Anthony Davis, Harrison Barnes, or Michael Robinson.  However, the kid that would receive the early raves and end up winning this thing was completely under the radar. Before I discuss the winner let me talk about some other newcomers that deserve praise.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

NBA Defensive Player Of the Year

I’m motivated to make a contribution to the pointless arguments that go on over the internet. So hey, why not just do it on my own site. The NBA season is nearing its conclusion, thankfully this means I have a few “gimme” topics to write about.

The runner ups

 

Dwight Howard - The guy that has been a shoe in for this award for the better part of his career made strong push for this award towards the end of the season. His defense post All Star break has been stellar and, other than Kobe Bryant’s Space Jam level offense, has been the driving force behind the Los Angeles Lakers’ playoff push.  Howard also leads the NBA in rebounding.  Unfortunately for D12 and the Lakers, his efforts weren't enough, the team was altogether pretty horrible on defense.   He came into the season still recovering from off season back surgery. The poor shadow of himself that suited up in the first half of the season wasn’t the intimidating presence in the paint that we all were used to.